By Leah Justice and Brandon Shanesy

Three Landrum City Council seats open for election
Three Landrum city council seats will be up for election come November 3. Filing opened on Wednesday, July 15 and will close at noon on Wednesday, August 5. As of Thursday, July 30, incumbent council member Johnny Carruth was the only to file. Fellow council members up for re-election, Jon Matheis and Joyce Whiteside, are expected to file. Those seeking Landrum City Council election must be a Spartanburg County registered voter and a resident of the City of Landrum for at least 30 days prior to the election. Filing for Landrum city council can be done at the Voter Registration and Elections office located at 366 N. Church Street in Spartanburg. A fee of $100 must be paid to the Landrum City Clerk prior to filing.

Columbus Town Council appoints new ABC board chairman
Columbus town council officials approved the appointment of retired North Carolina state trooper Darryl Bailey as the new ABC Board chairman to replace Pat Feagan at their special meeting held on Monday, July 27. Feagan announced his resignation as chairman of the board on July 23 to focus on his business, the Columbus Hardware Store, stating his resignation from the ABC board is “for the betterment of the store as it is a great asset for the town.” Bailey will take the position of chairman to fill Feagan’s unexpired term through March 2016. At that time, the council can determine whether Bailey should be reappointed for a new term.

Polk hears Fit Fresh Friendly update

The Polk County Board of Commissioners met July 20 and heard an update on Polk Fit Fresh Friendly (PF3). Members reviewed PF3’s history, activities and current projects, saying the organization is now a 501 (c)(3). Commissioners said they are impressed with PF3’s work and impressed with the amount of people associated with the group who came to the meeting.

Polk considering personnel policy revision

Polk commissioners are considering a personnel policy revision, drafted by human resource officer Patti Wagner. Commissioners plan to review the draft policy at its next meeting, scheduled for Aug. 10 where it could approve the new policy.

Polk appoints Gage as voting delegate for next NCACC conference

The Polk County Board of Commissioners appointed commissioner Michael Gage to be the county’s voting delegate for the 108^th N.C. Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) Conference. The conference will be held in Pitt County Aug. 23-25.

Polk approves resolution to consider future participation in state health care

Polk County Commissioners approved a resolution of intent on July 20 to consider future participation in the North Carolina State Employee’s Health Care plan.

General Assembly House Bill 154/Session Law 2015-112 allows the county to enroll its employees and dependents in the plan. County manager Marche Pittman said the resolution opens the door and saves the county a place in line to enroll in the plan if it so chooses in the future. Commissioner chair Tom Pack said the plan looks like it could save the county money as if the county had been able to join the plan last year it would have saved almost $250,000. He said it’s hard to compare and predict because healthcare plans change every year.